TEMPE, Ariz. — Chris Young is valuable to Arizona State no matter where he plays.

The senior linebacker leads the Sun Devils in tackles with 29 and is ninth in the Pac-12 (7.2 per game) while playing the weak-side (Will) position that Brandon Magee occupied last season. Still, No. 24 ASU is No. 92 nationally in rushing defense, its most glaring weakness going into Saturday's game against Notre Dame and the second third of the season.

So Young is moving back to Spur, a linebacker/safety hybrid position where he played last season. The intention is to improve perimeter rush defense without sacrificing on the interior, where opponents have had difficulty running. Steffon Martin remains at strong-side (Sam) linebacker with Salamo Fiso now playing Will.

"I was very comfortable (at Spur) and everything came back," Young said after practice Tuesday. "I felt like the lineup for linebackers was great. We'll definitely be all right with that lineup."

ASU coach Todd Graham is making run defense a priority against the Irish, who are averaging a modest 135.4 yards rushing but have a dangerous breakaway threat in George Atkinson.

"We're obviously working different personnel groupings because of the matchups we have this week," Graham said. "Chris has played really solid. We've got to get Salamo going. He is so talented and he just made a lot of mental errors early (vs. USC). We can't have those things."

Graham said Anthony Jones, who started the first four games at Spur, will continue to get significant time with Grandville Taylor and Carlos Mendoza also in the linebacker mix.

"Penetration on any running offense is the kryptonite," Young said. "Obviously setting the edge is going to discourage them running outside then pushing it inside to our defense where we're very strong. That's going to be a great emphasis for Saturday."

Graham said Atkinson reminds him of Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, who ran for 193 yards against ASU including an 80-yard fly sweep for a touchdown on the opening play of the second half.

"He's a big back (6-1, 220) with great speed," Young said. "When we get the opportunity to tackle him, we have to take it and tackle tough."

Missouri (4-0, 0-0) at Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3: Vanderbilt has dug itself a hole starting 0-2 in conference play, while Missouri will look to start its SEC schedule off with a bang. The Tigers need a win here, as their next three games are Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
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TCU (2-2, 0-1) at No. 10 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. ET, FOX: TCU has only lost to LSU and Texas Tech this season, and will look to get above .500 for the first time. Oklahoma is firing on all cylinders with Blake Bell now under center, having thrown six touchdowns in his two starts.
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Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-1) at No. 14 Miami (4-0, 0-0), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU: Miami kicks off its ACC slate against one of its top divisional rivals, with the Yellow Jackets coming off a loss to Virginia Tech. A win for Georgia Tech would put them in good position in the ACC Coastal.
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No. 24 Arizona State (3-1) at Notre Dame (3-2), 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC: The Sun Devils broke back into the top 25 with last week's win over USC, while Notre Dame fell out with the loss to Oklahoma. Irish QB Tommy Rees looks to bounce back from last week's 9-for-24 performance, throwing three interceptions.
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Maryland (4-0, 0-0) at No. 8 Florida State (4-0, 2-0), 12 p.m. ET, ESPN: Maryland has its chance to burst onto the national scene in its ACC opener. The Seminoles allowed 34 points to Boston College last week and the Terps are averaged 39.8 through four games.
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No. 18 Washington (4-0, 1-0) at No. 5 Stanford (4-0, 2-0), 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN: The Huskies have notched some solid wins already this season but face their most daunting task. Stanford is out for revenge after losing 17-13 in this game last season.
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H-back Chris Coyle said winning on the road at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will require discipline from every traveling player, something that wasn't the case at No. 5 Stanford, where ASU trailed 29-0 at half and lost 42-28 on Sept. 21.

AT&T Stadium is home to the Dallas Cowboys and was site of the 2011 Super Bowl.

"We've got to have everybody buying in, nobody distracting anybody," Coyle said. "Coach has made it completely clear that nobody is allowed to be messing around this trip. This is 100 percent business. We've got to go in there focused. Last time it was a big-time game, first road game, people were a little bit on their heels. We're never going to let that happen again."

"If we're spreading it out like we did, it loosens up the defense and opens up so many more options even in the run game," Coyle said. "Jaelen is outside. They don't know if he's going to run a fade and the safety has got to help outside. That leaves us one less guy inside we have to block."